And you know when else Insecure passes the Bechdel test? men. Shes also right pretty much all of the time and her male captains need to listen to her more often. In fact it can be pretty spectacular, especially when youre hanging out with other women! There is no clear correlation between the budget or revenue of a movie and its Bechdel score. Happily there have been some absolutely stellar standouts as of late which not only pass the Bechdel test, but also move beyond this low bar into portraying powerful and moving performances with real substance and impactful storytelling. Big Little LiesSpeaking of Laura Dern, lets talk about television for a moment. The three female mathematicians in the 1960s (played masterfully by Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, and Janelle Monae) rarely talk about a man, focusing instead on their goals, their work, and the obstacles that they overcome every step of the way. Most any military-based show. Frasier performs similarly badly; although it had two female characters in the main cast, Roz and Daphne interacted relatively rarely (this pairs conversations passed the BT in only 14% of episodes). A hobbit gets caught up in a huge war when he has to take a magic ring right to the bad guys front door. Currently, only the titles of the movies are searchable. A paraplegic dude gets his brothers hand-me-down remote control alien, falls in love with another alien, fights off a bunch of humans, and decides he likes being an alien more, because apparently he thinks living on a planet full of terrifying animals and waiting for the humans to come back sounds like a goodtime. But times are changing and there are a handful of incredible examples of ladies crushing mainstream media. Of course, people watch movies for the simple pleasure that the story brings. The Bechdel test, Also known as the Bechdel-Wallace test, is a test used for works of fiction (usually movies), named after the American cartoonist Alison Bechdel. 2022 Galvanized Media. YAS! The movies follow The Bride as she kills her way through the list of assassins who targeted her, working her way up to Bill - their boss and her former lover. 6) Encanto. Then again, its possible that the nurses exchanged at least a few lines complaining about their living conditions, talking about the war, etc., and a conversation about treating a patient who happens to be a man is arguably not really a conversation about a man. The percentage of women working as directors on the top 100 films retreated from 16% in 2020 to 12% in 2021. Id think similar reasoning would apply to the Sopranos, the Wire, The Shield, etc. Please note that uses cookies to improve your experience and to provide Powered by Discourse, best viewed with JavaScript enabled. Kristine Kochanski was a major character in seasons 7 and 8, but Holly had changed back to a male appearance by that point so I dont think Kochanski ever spoke to the female-looking version of Holly. The movie: Annies best friend is getting married so naturally shes Maid of Honor. The movie also includes Jess sister Pinky and a whole host of other named women on the football team, and besides that, the basic message of the movie is that women can do anything even become professional footballers. Note: Your privacy is important to us, so please know that your information will always remain confidential! (will pass the test, but female characters are still underrepresented) Its 2019, high time to get all underrepresented groups in significant numbers behind and in front of the camera! Finally, although we can guess what the result will be, I computed the male equivalent of the test: two male characters must talk about something other than a female character. Well, if you're looking for a female fish in the sea you'd be hard pressed to find one in Nemo's world. Thank you for subscribing to ENTITY. But it goes much further than this, with Katniss having a variety of conversations with other women, ranging from her mother and Rue, to the delightfully colourful Effie Trinket, and only once does a romance get mentioned in one conversation between Katniss and Rue. The women definitely rule the show and its no surprise that women are also behind the scenes as well here. Disney Plus. I havent sat down to do a critical analysis or anything, but I bet 95% of Breaking Bad episodes would fail the test. For a movie or TV show to pass the test, it has to feature at least two women talking to each other about a topic other than a man. According to . The Bechdel Test is a simple test to see if a work of fiction passes the feminist [] Law & Order in the early seasons wouldnt have, with no starring female cast members. We think its time to go beyond it. Land acknowledgements are a way for us to reflect upon the duality of our work while we work within our team, our community, and our client organizations to promote greater inclusivity and abolish inequities, we ourselves still perpetuate and contribute to various forms of historical and present oppression. More than that, all the women are fiercely strong and morally questionable, presenting a version of women not often seen in the cinema. Heres how the test works a piece of fiction has to satisfy three requirements: Thats it. Summit Entertainment. An extra big kick in the nuts to Star Wars fans: The prequel trilogy actually passes the test (partially). I assume Yeoman Rand and Sulu dont count. The Bechdel Test explained like you're five It is as simple as that, and you will do this for every scene in the script. This show might possibly be the highlight of 2017. The movie: Best friends Enid and Becky spend the summer after high school trying to figure out what theyre doing with their lives and along the way they meet a lonely, middle-aged man named Seymour, who Enid strikes up a friendship with. The actresses, who play characters of the same first names, started the show as a web series that was later picked up by Comedy Central. The Bechdel test is a simple test to evaluate films (and other media) for portrayals of women. Id guess most Orange is the New Black episodes would fail. We all play a part in creating a more equitable and just workplace and world. Okay, so, right, Atomic Blonde stars Theron as an MI6 agent who travels to Berlin as the wall is about to fall in order to retrieve a priceless dossier to take down an espionage ring. Because representation matters, and many of the people writing, directing, and producing are still majority men. (Episode III does still fail, though. They confront him, defeat him, age weirdly, and everyone lives happily everafter. More. Shes brilliant and weird and is really really good at choosing great roles. Ted LassoWhile it may be a mans name in the title, this might be one of our favorite TV shows that passes the Bechdel test with flying colors. 6. City Lights (1931) G | 87 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance 8.5 Rate 99 Metascore It uses the same lines identified above as part of a back-and-forth between two characters, and sums these by the gender of the pair of characters involved: female-female, male-male, or male-female. Whether related to law, business, or politics, Diane, Lucca, Marissa, and Liz in particular had stunning moments of grace, confidence, and jaw dropping cool that we simply loved watching. Director: Sarah Polley | Stars: Michael Polley, John Buchan, Mark Polley, Joanna Polley. But the shows that dont pass the test are about men who already have established careers, and so the relationships between women fall to the wayside. In 1985, American cartoonist Alison Bechdel included the idea for the Bechdel test (also known as the BechdelWallace test) in a comic strip called The Rule. With Kristen Wiig and Rose Byrne going head-to-head in this hilarious bridesmaid-off, expect a lot of laughs and plenty of super awkward moments. GLOWThis Netflix series on its second season features a fictionalized account of how GLOW (Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling) came to be a cultural phenomenon in the 1980s. Sam Loveridge. The Bechdel test was designed to point out how infrequently women in Hollywood movies are presented as characters in their own right, as opposed to adjuncts or even accessories to the male characters. Rachel Weber is the US Managing Editor of GamesRadar+ and lives in Brooklyn, New York. The test is named for Alison Bechdel, creator of the comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For, who made it known to the world with this strip. Lauren OCallaghan. So if you want to watch a TV show that passes the Bechdel test and shows the full picture of what it means to be a woman, try turning on one of these TV shows about female friendship below. The singer reveals how grueling life was on the road. And this is despite the fact that Cate Blanchett is Liv Tyler's grandmother in the film, so it would have been completely possible for them to schedule some sort of visit together to say goodbye in case Middle Earth went down in flames! About something besides a man Movie list 2023 (5 movies) Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania Infinity Pool Missing Pathaan Reflect 2022 (153 movies) The 355 A Fada do Lar A Man Called Otto The Adam Project All the old knives Having a lot of lines between different gender characters makes it harder to pass the BT; from this perspective, it is better to concentrate the male characters in one storyline/scene, and the female characters in another. Thankfully, by Toy Story 3 Pixar had included a conversation between female characters that involved something other than men. This test, put forth by cartoonist Alison Bechdel in a comic strip from 1985, posits . Cartoonist and graphic novelistAlison Bechdel came up with a test when she was younger that a movie had to have: For her to see the movie, it had to pass these three standards, and this test was first featured in her 1985 column Dykes to Watch Out For.. "Glitch" is a drama that has earned its rightful place in any discussion about feminist science-fiction. Aw, Sorkin, you charmer,you. Neither speak to each other or ever meet. Alison Brie's Ruth . The Bechdel Test is a test for whether a movie contains: Its commonly used as a commentary about the lack of female representation in Hollywood. Thank goodness theres one more season to go. We love this list and think many of them go farther than just passing the Bechdel test. Doesn't Lara need any friends? #ForeverAlone. This Canadian-made comedy about friends navigating motherhood will have you laughing out loud. Imagine how tedious it would be if half of all of the films you watched never had any men who were important enough to be named in them? Anyone else feel like going for a little drive? Enter the Bechdel Test, which was created in 1985 by cartoonist Alison Bechdel in a now-famous comic strip.Essentially, the Bechdel Test is a metric which determines whether a movie or TV series pays ample attention to its women characters. But the Internet commenters can still find things to get upset about - go ahead, get angry! Fox Searchlight Pictures. The movie, which tells the story of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, features a few female characters, but they never talk to each other. Her character, Cassie, is a fun-loving flight attendant who gets into a huge problem. Through the artful presentation and deconstruction of implicit and explicit social mores, filmmaker Julia Ducournau forces us to confront the animal in all of us. How it passes: Brilliantly, theres not a romantic relationship in sight in Ghostbusters. Henry V. Surprisingly enough, this classic Shakespearean History passes the Bechdel Test. Like Harry Potter, there are a few brief moments where female characters say a single line at each other, but they dont actually hold a conversationexcept in one scene, where Neytiri and her mother have a drawn out discussion. In fact, theyre kinda just flat characters who the male characters ignore or bang in bathrooms when its dramatically appropriate. TV Show Recaps; TV Reviews; TV Lists; TV News & Trailers; TV Features; The L Word; The L Word: Generation Q; . Were there any women on F-Troop aside from Wrangler Jane? del test/n. This test attempts to acknowledge the disparity between female and male characters in media. Padme speaks to Shmi Skywalker in Episode I and to her handmaidens at various points in Episode II, and in both cases, they discuss things other than men. The Bechdel Test is a type of sexism test in the bracket of films. Women make up more than half of the population, but it seems that theres still a problem with representation in films and on television. Its just to get people thinking about gender and how its presented in film. Grace and FrankieHow often do we get to see older women rise up against adversity with a whole lot of laughter and a whole lot of love? 20th Century Fox. For a movie to pass The Bechdel Test, it must contain just one thing - a. Rise Together is key to creating greater opportunity by providing you with the support, knowledge, and community to break through barriers. Third, that conversation must be about something other than a man. Well, surprisingly hard to manage it seems, with up to 50% of films failing the test. Refine See titles to watch instantly, titles you haven't rated, etc 79 titles 1. Employment is overrated. Um, no. There are a couple guys on the prison staff, but they tend to talk about the prisoners or their boss Fig, who is a woman. And, apparently, successfully robbing banks is one of the things they can accomplish together. But it easily passed the Bechdel test, focusing on their badass careers saving an entire CITY and their friendships. Killing EveVillanelle and Eve are the two stars of this thriller series and have a relationship like weve never seen before. Kate McKinnon was everything. Wikipedia says that Ms. Bechdel prefers the name "Bechdel-Wallace test". Sam Loveridge. And so are five other '90s tattoo styles. Most are finally passing the Bechdel test, aka a test that analyzes a scene where two or more women talk about anything else other than men. 101 Dalmatians (rated G): The original 1961 animated version squeaks . Enter search term: Or, you can show the list for one or more years: Here are our favorites! for the content of external websites. Zoe Delahunty-Light. Emma Stone chills, sings, dances and colour-coordinates her outfits with her three gal pals, buuuut the friends themselves are never named. A Medium publication sharing concepts, ideas and codes. So viewers would expect it to pass the Bechdel test with flying colors - and it does. The movie: When Princesses Elsa and Annas parents die, Elsa must become Queen, but during her coronation party everyone finds out that shes been secretly hiding powers (which she can use to freeze anything) all this time. Visit our corporate site (opens in new tab). Harry and his friends (several of whom are female) begin making their final moves to take down Lord Voldemort. They might as well be talking to themselves (or, more likely, the audience). Washington Post, many films and TV shows fail the Bechdel Test (Rosenberg, 2015). The actor describes Harry Styles as "a very kind guy.". They recently soft-launched their take on the Bechdel test, called the Riz test, which aims to cast a light on how Muslims are represented on film and TV shows. Fantasies are notoriously male-dominated (Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings, we see you!). It has a lot of well written three dimensional women, but theyre spread far apart from each other. TV shows tend to run far longer than movies and thus, most of them end up passing the Bechdel Test. Next up, consideration of film beyond this basic test. Movies that fail the Bechdel test tend to have higher IMDB ratings. In 2020, the archive shows that 78 films passed the Bechdel Test out of 329 films released in the U.S. and Canada. This method probably fails to catch some cases where the topic of conversation was, broadly speaking, a male character, but a three-line sequence occurred without mentioning him by name or pronoun; but it seems too harsh to throw away the whole scene if a male is mentioned anywhere in the scene, since often scenes can involve multiple conversations between different groups of characters. Euphoria doesnt shy away from topics that would never have been included in a teen show ten years ago. Summit Entertainment Remember the test was originally invented to help lesbians find movies theyd like. Despite having an array of fierce and funny female characters, the last movie of the Harry Potter installments disappointingly doesn't feature a single conversation between the women. After a chat of what The Hunger Games actually means, Katniss comforts her sister Primrose, whos had a bad dream. policy. The Morning ShowOof this last season was a toughie (hello, news media + New York + #MeToo + Covid = messy! For more information on cookies please refer to our cookies "Glitch". The best part about Girls is that the characters arent that likable. The meaning of BECHDEL TEST is a set of criteria used as a test to evaluate a work of fiction (such as a film) on the basis of its inclusion and representation of female characters. By continuing to browse, you agree to the use of cookies. Do those bacta tanks grow babies,too? Its not always pretty, but its a true representation of female relationships. Theres maybe 3.5 major female characters (Skyler, Marie, Lydia who came in late, arguably Andrea) and they rarely talk to each other. Sounds simple, right? Atomic BlondeYes, please give us more Charlize Theron! When they do interact its usually to talk about their place in society with regards to the men and their plans. Lauren OCallaghan. The Bechdel is a good test to show general representation of women in film/tv, and should not be used to critique the value or lack thereof, of any specific film/tv. Fox Searchlight Pictures The world has changed since the Bechdel-Wallace Test was created Hulu When The Bechdel-Wallace Test first appeared in 1985, the world was an entirely different place. The Bechdel Test, also known as Mo Movie Measure and The Bechdel-Wallace Test, is a method used in media criticism to gauge the degree of representation and development of female characters within a work of fiction, and therefore, any gender bias against women that may be present in it. In 10 hours, not one interaction? Hm, Red Dwarf probably cuts it, too, with only one main character even arguably female, and very few appearances by any character not in the main cast. 5. It's worth noting though that this is in a series that shows women's asses at every opportunity & had gold-painted dancing girls earlier. It sounds simple,. The Good FightWe were fans of The Good Wife, and when The Good Fight aired, we were excited to see some of our favorite characters back and connecting with each other in fascinating and exciting ways. TL;DR: Some episodes do, some d. The Bechdel test is the most popular tool for assessing female representation in film. But seriously, I cant remember two female characters even talking to each other. The test asks whether a film features at least two women talking to each other about something other than a man. Take Game of Thrones for example. Starring the super brilliant Sonequa Martin-Green as First Officer Michael Burnam, she was raised by Vulcans, though is human, so shes a fascinating character to watch. It could have been so easy to write just ONE more female into the story. Mark Zuckerberg and his buddies spend two hours screwing over each other and everyone else around them in pursuit of Facebook billions, apparently in an attempt to prove that nerds cant havefriends. Absolutely. The test and its rules were first mentioned in Bechdel's 1985 comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For and has three (and later added four) simple rules: So, what is the Bechdel Test? There are braces, acne, and lots of humiliating moments. Cue epic action sequences, horrendously troublesome gameplay tactics, and even a little bit of romance. In order to pass, a film must feature at least two women on screen talking to each other about. No, its not a T.V cooking show where Mary Berry judgesthe bestbechamel sauce for a lasagna, although that does sound like delicious competition Id wana be a judge on. How it passes: This ones obvious. As explained above, this can happen when the storylines pair characters of different gender together. Hilary Duff? Breaking out the results by show and season and plotting against broadcast year, there is some sign of an upward trend. And to be clear, passing doesnt mean the movies good or bad. In fact, the example Bechdel gave as a film that passed the test was Alien, simply because Ripley and Lambert have a brief conversation about the alien. What Insecure does better than most shows is showcasing real vulnerability and raw honesty, and therein lies its beauty. Does she have an interesting relationship with McAvoy? (Lets ignore the fact that the alien was a walking penis-monster, as this was before the Xenomorphs had established sexes the Queens werent introduced until 1986sAliens.). She later also attributed the idea to her friend Liz Wallace and to Virginia Woolfs writings. Her struggle with alcohol comes to a head and it was powerful to see how her friends supported her without enabling her. It originated in a comic strip by Bechdel in 1985. The show takes place in the beautiful town of Monterey, California, and follows three moms: Madeline, Celeste, and Jane. She+ Geeks Out was originally founded on land that is the traditional territory of the Massachusett and Pawtucket tribes, and which is still home to descendants of these peoples. The movie: The 2016 Ghostbusters (opens in new tab) film is technically the third film in the franchise, but actually serves as a reboot, replacing the four main male characters with female alternatives - played by Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones. Leia and Rey have more agency than weve seen women have in previous movies, and one of our favorite scenes is when Laura Derns character (Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo) and other female soldiers were discussing their next military move. . Then again, its possible that the nurses exchanged at least a few lines complaining about their living conditions, talking about the war, etc., and a conversation about treating a patient who happens to be a man is arguably not really a conversation about a man. How it passes: Its easy to see how Bridesmaids (opens in new tab) passes the Bechdel Test - all the main characters are women and they talk about almost everything but men - but on the surface, it doesnt seem that female positive. For fun, how about shows that not only regularly pass the normal test but fail the reverse Bechdel Test? Proving that women . The film follows three different possible outcomes for her actions and explores her relationships and interactions with the people and the world aroundher. Literally, it can be about anything but a man! Alex and Bradley, newly brought together co-anchors for The Morning Show, have a complicated relationship. In non-pandemic years, an average 600 or 700 films have been added to the archive annually since 2006. Holdo a total, er, force (RIP). For the most part, the shows that pass the Bechdel Test are shows about women who are devoted to their careers, Leslie Knope, Olivia Pope, Alicia Florrick. HBOs teen show Euphoria shocked viewers with its extremely adult storylines. And its been surprisingly challenging for movies and TV shows to pass this basic test, even in our current golden age of media consumption. This movie about the pressures and pleasures of family-life, will have you teary . Im not completely certain, but possibly the original Star Trek? How it passes: Its true that Frozen (opens in new tab) only has two named female characters, but the movie is literally about them and their relationship to each other. However, its not the case that these shows were full of male-male conversations without female involvement: as seen by the fact that no show lies below 0.8 on the y-axis, these shows had as many, or almost as many, male-female conversations, as male-male conversations. The movie: The Bride is hellbent on - surprise surprise - killing Bill because he and his assassins tried to kill her and her unborn child many years ago. Answer (1 of 3): Disclaimer: I love Firefly. That doesnt mean its not funny, though! Especially the last season, with its female villain. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. The trilogy is over 10 hours long but Arwen (Liv Tyler), Eowyn (Miranda Otto) and Galadriel (Cate Blanchett), all strong female characters, do not meet even once. 5. The WitcherAnd our second fantasy series is The Witcher, which, despite a lot of male energy (wayy more um, cleavage, in this one), does indeed pass the Bechdel test a few times Yennefer and Tissaias complicated relationship, as well as Ciri and Eithns short time together, and honestly probably more but were still working our way through this story (hey, we still have pandemic time to watch!).
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